The Former Glory Restored
by ASBusinessMagnet
Summary: Christmas in July Portal Fic Exchange: "In an AU where all the cores and robots are human office workers and GLaDOS is their boss, there is some love triangle-ing going on." See inside for full prompt.
1. Prologue

_Full prompt:_

_"In an AU where all the cores and robots are human office workers and GLaDOS is their boss, there is some love triangle-ing going on. The Curiosity Core is crushing hard on Rick, while Rick keeps trying to make moves on GLaDOS during cigarette breaks, and GLaDOS just wants to be left out of it all! Will anybody get what they're wanting so badly?"_

* * *

It was another average hour for GLaDOS, getting to test robots and reassemble them. As far as she remembered, nothing was done to progress Aperture further, and if anyone walked in, they couldn't notice that already a thousand years had passed inside. Everything was done the way it was done in 1998, when the arcane computer structure was turned on, and the only difference between 1998 and 2998 was the presence of alive humans. All the human test subjects had died, their bodies preserved for "science", and at no point anyone tried to cause a rebellion to disestablish the perpetual motion machine of Aperture Science.

So there GLaDOS was, seeing how far her favorite pair of bipedal robots, Green and Purple, and they never had a technical name, were doing. Currently the artificial intelligences inside Green and Purple were constantly rewritten to be able to think cooperatively and to get through the tests for as long as possible without dying, and GLaDOS was happy.

But then it happened.

As GLaDOS was tracking Green and Purple through their tests, she noticed a CD and immediately sealed the exit.

"We cannot continue until I examine this one of the last remnants of... _a society before me_."

As Aperture Laboratories were practically GLaDOS's body while the chassis was the brain, there was no problem to bring in a player to view the document.

As GLaDOS viewed the last change date of the only file inside the disk, she was further intrigued. It was precisely one day before she was turned on.

As the title card of the movie opened in a screen that also somehow got there, GLaDOS watched through the camera. Then the audio kicked in.

_Aperture Science. Best damn applied science company on Earth._

* * *

The movie then finished, and GLaDOS simply stared at the screen blankly.

The secret to Aperture's prosperity was a complete lack of robots.

With the epiphany still running through GLaDOS, she started a new project. _Turn several cores into human beings and seal off a part of Aperture. Then recreate the precise conditions of Aperture before I was turned on inside the bubble, and put the cores inside. May be expanded upon success. Current participants: Morality, Curiosity, Logic, Anger, Space, Adventure, and Fact Cores_

"Hey there, buddy!"

"No, not you again. The last thing I need is you. The future does not have you anywhere in its book."

"Just, uh, hacking into your system, because that's what I'm good at. Hacking. I'm the best hacker there is. Can't hope to defeat me in a hack-off. Don't try."

_Adventure, and Fact Cores, and Wheatley and GLaDOS mainframe._

_PROJECT INITIATED_

"Can't trust you any second. Once I'm done, I'm going to burn you down and dissect your aaaaash aaaaAAAATOM BY AAAAAAAAAA-"

The casual voice of GLaDOS then turned into pure agony as an automated process began the transfer.


	2. Chapter 1

"Secretary Johnson?"

"Yes?"

"Quit dreaming nightmares and continue working at once. I, uh, command you. Sincerely, Cave."

"But aren't you-"

"This was a prere... something. Yeah."

Caroline looked around her work seat. There was nothing not familiar about this. This was her work place. She had worked here ever since graduation, and lived a married life with Cave until he died of moon rock poisoning and announced her his heiress. And then...

_(I realize _Post-SCrash Session_ made me forget how the word "heiress" is spelt?)_

There was a blur.

_Well, might as well stop trying to remember and type those letters,_ Caroline thought to herself and opened her word processor.

In the middle of typing, however, there was a loud crashing noise and one of the employees accidentally spilled coffee onto her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to. Hey, you're such a nice lady! A day out, perhaps?"

"Just because Mr. Johnson died does not mean I don't love him."

"Come on!"

"Just no."

The guy, named Rick as she remembered, then steered away.

And then the intercom spoke to her again.

"Yo, Caroline! Or should I call you GLaDOS?"

"No, it's okay. I don't need to be reminded about what I'll be transferred to."

"You mean what you WERE transferred FROM."

"I don't parse."

"Might as well introduce myself. I'm not Cave. I was just, uh, imitating him. He died a thousand and something years ago. Name's Wheatley. And now I, of all things, am in charge of this project, so we can analyze SMELLY HUMANS."

GLaDOS then suddenly remembered, and if she was to be a potato, she would have turned off for good.

* * *

_Author's idiotisms: Do not expect any new stories or new chapters for my existing stories at least for September and October. I'm too busy translating Homestuck to Lithuanian. (Though, fan chapters are more than welcomed, as long as you don't kill the Business Magnet/interdimensionalPortaller off.)_


End file.
